The ‘Friends’ creators believe Matthew Perry’s death makes the show’s 30th anniversary “a little fraught” and say they thought he had finally found peace before he died.
The ‘Friends’ creators believe Matthew Perry’s death makes the show’s 30th anniversary “a little fraught”.
The 54-year-old actor – who plays Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom – died in October 2023 from the “acute effects” of ketamine in the pool of his Los Angeles home and executive producer Kevin Bright thought he had finally beaten his addictions before his death.
He told the ‘Today’ show: “He’d been fighting the good fight for so long, and it really did feel like, from the [2021] reunion, that he had finally found some peace.”
Creator Marta Kauffman added: “It’s a huge loss, and it does make the 30th a little fraught.”
Her co-creator David Crane added: “He made us laugh every day,” while Bright said: “David always said [Matthew] was the funniest man in a room.”
‘Friends’ premiered in 1994 and ended 10 years later and Kauffman and Crane admitted fans have been begging for a reboot, starring the original characters’ children.
David said: “I would imagine it’s kind of what it must feel like when your kid turns 30 and you’re like, ‘How did that happen?’”
Marta added: “We get that a lot. I get emails about it all the time. Everybody has a great idea, and the great idea is: their kids, grown up, doing a ‘Friends’ show.”
Speaking previously about how fans could celebrate Perry for the show’s 30th reunion, Marta told The Times: “Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to drug treatment centers — let’s fight the disease.
“And the second way is to watch ‘Friends’ and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody.”
Matthew Perry’s death makes Friends 30th anniversary ‘a little fraught’
